Kimly up 76% in strong trading debut

Shares of Kimly, the first coffeeshop operator to list on the Singapore Exchange, made a piping hot trading debut yesterday. The counter opened at 56 cents, 124 per cent above its initial public offering (IPO) price of 25 cents, before closing at 44 cents, up 76 per cent.

About 108.5 million shares changed hands, making it the most actively traded counter yesterday.

"The offer price was low, at about 12 times price earnings (a measure of share price relative to profits), and the company's cash position is strong," said an analyst.

Kimly aims to pay at least 50 per cent of its net profit as dividends.

In the IPO for a listing on the Catalist board, 3.8 million new shares were offered to the public and 170 million shares were sold to institutional investors, among others.

The IPO was subscribed about 8.3 times, underscoring strong interest. The firm has an estimated market value of $288.7 million.

But most successful retail investors were allotted only 1,000 or 2,000 shares, so their windfall on paper based on the closing price would be about enough to treat a group of friends to a zi char meal and coffee at a coffee shop.

Kimly raised $43.5 million in net proceeds, to be used for acquisitions, joint ventures and business expansion, including establishing new food outlets. It has nearly 500 stalls in 64 outlets. - THE STRAITS TIMES